Geology on planets somewhere far, far away: National Schools Geology Challenge Finals

A team of Year 12 Geologists from our Sixth Form, dug deep to compete against ten other teams of students from across the UK at the National Schools Geology Challenge Finals in London, presenting their space-themed topic of ‘Diamonds on Gas Giants’ on March 28th. They earned their place at the finals after their earlier win at the Yorkshire Regional Competition.

The National Schools Geology Challenge is organised by the oldest national geological society in the world, the esteemed Geological Society of London. Teams of Geology and Geography students in Sixth Form produce a themed poster, a five minute presentation about their topic of choice to a panel of leading geologists, and compete in a geological quiz. The winning team receives a trophy in addition to one year’s Junior Candidate Fellowship to the Society.

This year the girls saw presentations and posters from other teams on ‘Spacecanoes’, ‘The Titanoboa’s Tale’, and Earth’s depleting resources. Each judge also gave their own in-depth talk on their specific area of geoscience, which included engineering geology, mining geology, sustainable development, teaching geology and petroleum exploration.

The day was an excellent opportunity for the Sheffield Girls’ team to go beyond the A-Level curriculum and be absorbed in fascinating new information in the field from competitors and experts, as well as develop their own public speaking skills and creativity.

The winning team were Altrincham Grammar School from the North West Regional Group with their talk and poster on ‘Yellowstone’. Our Year 12 team did outstandingly well at the finals and are proud of their hard work.

Read more about studying Geology A-level at Sheffield Girls' Sixth Form.